Gate-operating mechanism.



W. F. BACH.

GATE OPERATING MEcHANlsM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY l, 1910.

1 ,205,423. Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- W. F. BACH.

GATE OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION Hummm/1.1910.

-1 ,205,423. Patented Nov. A,21, 1916.

a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. F. BACH.

GATE OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I, 1910.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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Nb ww W/TNESSES:

TORNEY UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

WILLIAM E. BACHQOF' oHroAGo, ILLINOIS.

GATE-OPERATING MECANI-SM.

Mechanisms, of which the following is aspecification.

My present invention relates to gate operating mechanisms in general, and more particularly to mechanism for controlling the opening of gates aording access to elevator cars and the shafts wherein they run.

Itrcontemplates especially the provision ofV an improved mechanism for successively opening` and closing the gate, as the elevator approaches and leaves the corresponding floors in itsv ascent or descent, operable at the will of the elevator conductor and not solely according to the movement of the elevator car, together with automatically operable means for respectively unlatching and latching the gate when the opening mechanism is moved into operative position.

The principal objects of my present invention are the provision of a gate of the character specified wherein the ascent or descent of the car does not of itself open the gates to the hatchway, but one wherein the gate operating mechanism may be readily thrown into operative position so as to cause the movement of the car to open the gate; the provision of improved mechanism of the character referred to operable by slight movement of a treadle, leaving the operators hands free for control of the car, and one which automatically restores itself to inoperative position; the provision of such mechanism of a simplified form which is inexpensive in construction, unlikely to become out of order, -positive and certain in its operation, and having means for the prevention of interference of theparts carried -by the car and certain parts stationary in the shaft or hatchway; the provision of improved meansfor preventing the gate fromV sticking or becoming wedged in the act'of. being raised or lowered.;v the provision of improved means for automatically locking the gate against opening save when opened by the movement of the mechanism carried b y the car and upon the approach of the car; together with certain other objects which will hereinafter appear.

In the so-called automatically operating elevator gates in common use at this day, as

Specification of `lle'tters Patent. Patented NOV, 21, 1916.

Appiication inea July i, 1910.

Serial No. 569,939.

operative condition; moreover, such gates as have come under my observation frequently become out of order owing to failure of the parts carried by the car properly to engage the parts mounted inthe hatchway, striking them improperly with consequent breakage and displacementand furthermore many accidents happen owing to the lack of ade- Y quatelatching devices to prevent tampering with the` gates by unauthorized persons.

In attaining the advantages above mentioned in overcoming the disadvantages referred to, and in securing certain further benefits to` be below more ful-ly disclosed, I

have provided the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- 'Y Figure l is a perspective elevational view of an elevator hatchway, carv and gate, whereupon is mounted a preferred embodiment of my improved gate operating mechanism, the mechanism for operating the gates Y being here shown inoperative position and the gate partly opened; Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of construction; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the construction of Fig. l viewed from a' point eX- ternal to the car, the gate operating mechanism being shown in inoperative position; Fig. t is an elevational view of the operating mechanism of Figs. 1 and 3, viewed from within the car, the gate being shown l in fully opened position, and Fig. 5 is an elevational view `partly in section, the opening of the gate about to begin, and the latch being in inoperative position, and the gate free to rise; Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 5 the latch being shown in operative position, and the gate locked in closed position.

Referring now more particularly to Fig.

1 of the drawings, it will Vbe noted that my Y invention comprises essentially two coperative mechanisms, the one A, the'elements carried adjacent each floor for opening and closing the gates which normally prevent iin Vaccess to the shaft or hatchway 10, and the other the actuating mechanism B carried by the car 11, whereby the operating mechanism A is actuated at the will of the elevator conductor, to which may be added a third, C the latching devices eoperating with the elements A and operable by their movements. v

Referring first to the gate operating mechanism A it will be observed that the gate 12 is preferably mounted in guideways 13 and lifted and lowered by means of ropes 14 and 15 attached adjacent each end of the gate, the rope 14 passing over a single sheave 16 and both ropes over a double sheave 17, below whichthe ropes 14 and 15 are joined as indicated at 18, whence they are continued as a single rope 19, passing over a sheave 20, thence over a sheave 21 (Fig. 2), a sheave 22 (Fig. 1) arranged at an angle to the sheaves 20 and 21 in order to avoid twisting of the rope 19, thence over a sheave 23 mounted on the shaft 24 which likewise carries'the sheave 21 and finally over a sheave 25, a counter weight 26 being attached to the end of the rope to keep it taut at all times, and thereby avoid kinking or displacement of the rope from the grooves of the sheaves. As will be observed on a comparison of Fig. 1 with Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, the sheaves 20, 22, and 25 are journaled in a bracket 28 fixed in the hatchway, whereas the sheaves 21 and 23 are mounted in a sliding cage 29 carried by stationary guides 30 by the movement of which cage the gate 12 is opened and closed. To afford means for engagement between the cage and the actuating devices now to be described and at the same time to avoid unnecessary friction, I mount on the shaft 24 a roller 27, and above and below such roller the triangular guard members 31-31 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Referring now to the actuating mechanism B, it will be seen that this comprises a cam 40 movable in the plane of movement of the cage 29, to and from the normally inoperative position of the gate operating mechanism A (Fig. 3) such cam being carried by headed studs 41, 42 and 43 in guideways 44, 45 and 46 formed in brackets 47, 48 and 49, carried by the car 11, whereby such cam 40 is prevented from lateral or vertical displacement.

The normal or inoperativeposition of the cam 40 is illustrated in Fig. 3. T o provide means whereby the cam 40 may be shifted from the inoperative position shown in Fig. 3 to the operative position shown in Figs. 1 and 4, I provide a foot treadle 50 pivoted at 51 to a rocking lever 52 which is pivotably suspended at 53 from the floor 54 of the car 11, a counterweight 55 being provided on the llever 52 for normally holding it in the position shown in Fig. 3. At the end 56 opposite the treadle 50, the lever 52 is pivoted to a connecting rod 57 which in turn is attached to arms 58 and 59 of bell crank levers 60-61 pivoted at 63-62 to the floor 54 and to the bracket 47 respectively. The opposite ends 64 and 65 of said bell crank levers have pivoted connectionsV 66 and 67 to links 68 and 69 which are pivoted at 70 and 71 respectivelyI to the lower and upper ends 7 2 and 73 of said cam 40.

Referring now to the latching device C it will be noted upon reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings that I make use of a depending latch 90, pivoted at 91 on a bracket 92 and provided with a counterweighted arm 93 whereby it is normally held in contact with a toothed rack 94, save when the counterweight is lifted by the counterweight 26 in the operation of the mechanism below to be described.

In the operation of my invention, it will be noted that when the treadle 50 is depressed, moving the actuating mechanism B from the position illustrated in Fig. 3

to that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, so that the ends 80-81 of the cam 40 may come in contact with the roller 27 and move the cage to the left (Figs. 1 and 4), any tendency of the edge 82 of the cam to strike the roller in the center and break the shaft 24, as often occurs in practice, is largely overcome by the provision of the guides 31-31 whose edges are arranged on the same plane as the edges 82 (one not shown) of the cam, and by their angular surfaces 83 and 84 which guide the cam into proper contact with the roller 27. l

0n viewing Fig. 3 it will be observed that in the normal inoperative position of the mechanism embodying my improvements,

the elevator freely ascends and descends the shaft without any operation of any of the gates, in either direction, save when the foot treadle 50 is depressed, moving the mechanism B7 from the positions shown in Figs. 3, and 6,-where it is inoperative relatively to the mechanism .A, to the posit-ions shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, in which latter figures the mechanism is shown moved from inoperative to operative position.

0n comparing Fig. 6 with Fig. 5 it will be apparent that as thercounterweight 26 rises upon the initial movement of the cageV 29 it will strike the counterweighted arm 9.3 n

and move the latch 90 from the position shown in Fig. 6 to thatv of Fig. 5, permitting the gate to be lifted. Thus Vthe opening of any one of the series of gates, allowing access to any of the floors reached by the car 11 suspended in the hatchway 12, is entirely under the control of the operator and unnecessary wear of the gates and of the gate operating mechanism and of the actuating mechanism therefor, and any improper opening of the gates, save by operation of the latching device C is entirely avoided.

Having thus described my invention and p illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following: p v

1. The combination with an elevator car movable in a shaft, a gate, and actuating mechanism carried by the car, of gate operating mechanism comprising a cable, a pair of stationary sheaves, and a moving cage carrying a pair of sheaves and adapted for engaging said actuating mechanism, and a fifth sheave arranged between said pairs of sheaves, said cable engaging said five sheaves, and the fifth sheave being arranged at an angle to said several pairs of sheaves, whereby twisting of the cable is avoided.

2. rIhe combination with an elevator' car movable in a shaft, a gate, means for operating the gate including a striking member, and means operable by the movement of the car for actuating said operating means, of a substantially vertical rack and a latch normally disposed at an angle to said rack for locking the gate adapted to be held in engagement with each other in one position, said striking member being movable by the movement of the gate operating means and adapted to move the latch out of engagement with the rack when the gate operating means is operated by the movement of the car.

3. The combination with an elevator car movable in a shaft, a. gate, means for operating the gate, including a 'striking member and means operable by the movement ofthe car for actuating said operating means, of a cooperating rack and latch for locking the gate, said latch having a weighted arm for holding the latch in engagement with the rack in one position, and said striking member being operable by the movement of the gate operating means and adapted to move the latch out of engagement with the rack when the gate operating means is operated by the movement of. the car.

et. The combination with an elevator car movable in a shaft, a gate, means for operating the gate including a striking member, andV means operable by the movement of the car for actuating said operating means, of a cooperating rack .and latch for locking the gate, said latch having a weighted arm for holding the latch in engagement with the rack in one position, and said striking mem- Y ber being operable by the movement of the gate operating means and adapted to move the'latch out of engagement with the rack when the gate operating means is operated by the movement of the car, said weighted arm being located in the path of movement of said latch operating means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunder signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses. p WILLIAM F. BACH.

IVitnesses: Y

PAUL CARBENTER, E. C. NAYLOR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

